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Level 1
Technology clarifications
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91044: Undertake brief development to address a need or opportunity
Updated December 2014. This document has been updated in its entirety to address new issues that have arisen from moderation.
Need or opportunity
Students are required to identify an authentic need or opportunity, i.e. something that is real and that students can interact with. As part of this identification, students will explore the given context and issue.
Brief development within a project
Brief development generally occurs within a project that might, for example, also assess the production of a conceptual design (AS91046) or the making of a prototype (AS91047). However, the brief should not be something that is finalised in the initial stages of the project.
The brief development process requires ongoing interaction with stakeholders to reflect those opinions, and also the on-going consideration of the impact and influence of the social and physical environment. Hence, the brief should be developed, refined and/or modified throughout the project.
The final brief
Students will produce a final brief which, in technology, is a succinct guiding document reflective of the outcome that the project is aiming for. A brief has:
- a conceptual statement that communicates the focus (what) and purpose (why) of the technological practice to be undertaken to develop a technological outcome.
This statement is based on findings from the exploration, analysis of the context and the issue from which the need or opportunity driving the project has been identified - specifications that define the requirements of the outcome in terms of such things as appearance and performance. Students should be presenting a set of requirements that need to be satisfied for the outcome to be judged as fit for purpose.
Attributes
Identifying attributes is a precursor to developing specifications, and a requirement of this standard. Attributes that students develop should be broad descriptors of the physical and functional nature of the technological outcome. For example, an attribute may refer to the outcome being small enough to be comfortably held.
Specifications
Further investigation should be such that it leads to specifications that give a more precise measurement in terms of length, width and depth. The initial attributes and final specifications of a brief are the result of extensive research, including trialling and testing of design ideas.